Revenues up despite U.S. 70 bypass
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 27, 2017 9:57 AM
Excitement last May over the opening of the U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass was tempered somewhat by concerns as to how the new highway could adversely impact Wayne County's sales tax revenue.
Last week, Wayne County commissioners said they were encouraged by an upward trend in sales tax revenues during August and September of 2016 over the same time period in 2015.
A drop in revenues in October of last year was blamed on Hurricane Matthew and its historic flooding across eastern North Carolina.
Sales tax revenues are paid 60 days in arrears.
For example, sales tax revenues received in January 2016 represent taxes collected the previous October, and tax revenues reported for December 2016 represent taxes collected in September of that year.
"Right now (as of Dec. 31, 2016) our total sales taxes are at $9.126 million excluding the new Article 44," Allison Speight, county finance director, told commissioners during their Tuesday morning meeting. "At this time last year the total was $9.112 million which is a little less than where we are now."
There is not a lot of data yet, but the figures are encouraging, she said.
"If you look at November '15 (August taxes) and then match November '16 against it, you will see that November of this past year was quite a bit more," she said. "Then the same thing occurred with the December (September taxes). So sales taxes were trending upward.
"But if you notice January (2017) which represents October (2016) sales, we went down, and I think we all probably know what that is. But the encouraging news to me is that we were trending up before that. I am anxious to get in data from December and the holiday collections and see how that is going to work out."
Sales tax revenues received in November 2015 (August) totaled $1,373,934.64 compared to $1,698,917.60 for this past November. The December 2015 (September) total was $1,340,439.27 compared to $1,527,156.49 this past December.
For January 2016 (October), the total was $1,505,795.06 compared to $1,437,222.19 in January of 2017.
"Mr. Chairman (Bill Pate) this is real encouraging because this is the first report that we have received since the bypass has opened," Commissioner Joe Daughtery said. "It is indicating basically that the bypass has not had a big negative effect to our sales tax."
"Right, because the last time I presented to you was Sept. 30, and I think we didn't have quite as much data," Mrs. Speight said. "We might have had one month at that point. So that was not really a good representation, but it was all that we had to go by.
"This is very encouraging that this not even your holiday months, but you are seeing a trend upward, excluding the month of the hurricane. Hopefully the next quarter will be even better news."